(Not Applicable)
The present invention relates generally to baby wipes warmers, and more particularly to an improved baby wipes warmer which is adapted to provide heated liquid vapors to the baby wipes for maintaining moisture and coloration of the baby wipes.
Baby wipes have been marketed in the United States for many years. Essentially, baby wipes are small pre-moistened paper or synthetic (non-woven) towelettes and are typically available in packages to the consuming public. They are primarily used to cleanse the skin of infants and small children. The wipe fluid content for these pre-moistened wipes is generally comprised of cleansers, lotions and preservatives.
A few years after the baby wipes were introduced into the marketplace, various products for warming the wipes were made available to the public. Such products have been devised to comfort the baby wipe users from the inherent xe2x80x9cchillxe2x80x9d given off by the contact of the moistened wipes. For example, it is now a common practice for parents to employ the use of warm baby wipes on their children.
These warming products are generally electrically operated and come in two distinct styles. One is an xe2x80x9celectric blanketxe2x80x9d style which is sized to wrap around the external surfaces of a plastic baby wipes container. The other is a self-contained plastic xe2x80x9cappliancexe2x80x9d style which warms the accommodated baby wipes with its internally positioned heating element. Though such currently known and available baby wipes warming products achieve their primary objective of warming baby wipes, they possess certain deficiencies which detract from their overall utility.
Perhaps the two greatest deficiencies of the prior art baby wipes warming products are the inabilities to sustain the moisture content and coloration of the baby wipes. More specifically, drying of the baby wipes occurs due to heating of their moisture content which accelerates dehydration. Further, discoloration of the same appears to be inevitable because of a reaction of various chemicals in the wipes to heating. As such, even though these existing products may adequately warm the baby wipes, they cannot, however, seem to avoid the undesirable effects of dehydration and discoloration when warming them.
Thus, there exists a substantial need in the industry, and in the infant products manufacturing business in particular, for a baby wipes warming product that can effectively provide warmth to the baby wipes without dehydrating and/or discoloring them. Further, there exists a need for a baby wipes warming product which can achieve these objectives in a user-friendly and time-efficient manner.
The present invention specifically addresses and overcomes the above-described deficiencies of prior art baby wipes warming products by providing an improved baby wipes warmer that can warm baby wipes while substantially maintaining their original moisture content and coloration. Briefly, in order to accomplish such objectives, the present baby wipes warmer may utilize a heatable liquid tank assembly which can provide liquid vapors to the baby wipes through at least one vapor aperture. Alternatively, the present baby wipes warmer may individually or collectively use an elevated support surface such as a suspension tray and/or a sponge layer in lieu of the tank assembly in which the baby wipes supported thereon can be heated while sustaining their moisture and color through vapors generated therewithin. These as well as other features of the present invention will be discussed in more detail infra.
In accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a baby wipes warmer for warming baby wipes while substantially maintaining their original moisture content and coloration. Such warmer comprises a housing with a pivotally engaged lid member that can open and close relative thereto. A liquid tank assembly is disposed within the housing in such a way that its upper tank surface is vertically surrounded by the housing""s interior-side housing wall and horizontally closed off by the lid member. In this respect, an inside compartment is defined which can be selectively accessed by opening and closing the lid member. Optionally, the inner surface of the lid member may be layered with sponge materials to contain condensations which result from liquid evaporations in order to reduce the risk of spillage when it is opened. This optional feature of the lid member may be provided in all of the preferably embodied baby wipes warmers discussed herein.
The liquid tank assembly is preferably fabricated from any heat conducting material such as metal (e.g., aluminum) or plastic. The tank assembly comprises a liquid compartment which is formed between its upper and lower tank surfaces. The liquid compartment is used to hold any liquid that can produce vapors when heated such as water. By heating the liquid compartment, a portion of the liquid may change its physical state and flow into the inside compartment as vapors which helps to maintain the original moisture content and coloration of the baby wipes placed thereat. To allow the rising vapors to seep into the inside compartment from the liquid compartment, at least one vapor aperture is formed through the upper tank surface.
A heating element is disposed within the housing relative to the lower tank surface for the purpose of heating the liquid. The heating element may be located in various positions to achieve such purpose. For example, the heating element can be placed within the liquid compartment itself adjacent the lower tank surface to substantially extend thereabout. However, the heating element can also be placed outside the liquid compartment and still provide the requisite heat to the lower tank surface by being adjacent thereto. It is specifically contemplated herein that many types of heating element such as an electrically powered heating pad may be used.
In the first preferred embodiment, the upper tank surface is characterized by a generally flat support surface used for supporting the baby wipes thereon. This surface may be defined to be a part of the upper tank surface itself. In the alternative, however, the support surface can be formed by a suspension tray which is removably engaged upon a sponge material that extends through an exposed opening defined on the upper tank surface. If the latter configuration is used, the vapor aperture(s) of the upper tank surface is formed by the sponge itself as its inherent characteristics would allow the vapors to gradually flow therethrough. Moreover, a ridge may be formed around both types of support surfaces for confining the baby wipes within the physical boundary set thereby.
Further in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a first liquid reservoir which is set in fluid communication with the liquid compartment. The first liquid reservoir may be disposed within the housing adjacent the liquid tank assembly, or alternatively mounted to an exterior of the housing. To establish fluid communication, any elongated and hollowed structure such as a conduit may be used to provide a flow channel between the reservoir and the liquid compartment. As will be demonstrated below, the first liquid reservoir ensures that the liquid within the liquid compartment is always sustained at a certain level sufficient to provide adequate evaporation.
In accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a baby wipes warmer which utilizes a first elevated support surface such as a first suspension tray in lieu of the tank assembly. The first support surface is disposed within an inside compartment which is collectively formed by the interior-side housing wall and the upper housing wall. More specifically, the interior-side housing wall defines a generally flattened interior compartment surface used for placing the support surface thereon above the liquid level contained within the inside compartment. By doing so, the baby wipes accommodated thereon can be heated while sustaining their moisture and color through vapors rising from the heated liquid pool disposed underneath.
In accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a baby wipes warmer which is similar to the second embodied baby wipes warmer but additionally utilizes a sponge layer. More specifically, a second elevated support surface is provided on the interior compartment surface of the baby wipes warmer. The second elevated support surface forms therethrough a plurality of vapor holes which allow vapors to pass through. A sponge is directly layered upon this elevated surface and the baby wipes are supported upon such sponge layer. By forming such configuration, the liquid vapors rise from the pool of liquid (upon heating) through and around the second support surface to warm and moisten the wipes, not to mention warmly moistening the sponge layer which enhances the warm moisturizing effect on the baby wipes. Optionally, an exteriorly located liquid level indicator may be placed in fluid communication with the liquid pool (via a small pipe or the like) so as to provide convenient visual indication of the existing liquid level.
In accordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, a baby wipes warmer similar to the second embodied baby wipes warmer is provided. However, this baby wipes warmer does not use any type of elevated surface but rather places a layer of sponge directly upon its interior compartment surface. The sponge layer itself retains liquid to thereby dissipate the same as liquid vapors upon generation of sufficient heat. Moreover, the sponge layer may be treated with anti-microbial or anti-bacterial additives to prevent mold, mildew and unpleasant odors. By resting the baby wipes directly upon the sponge layer, the heated sponge acts to keep the wipes warm, moist and substantially without discoloration while inhibiting growth of potentially undesirable bacteria and microbes. As will be recognized, the layer of sponge can be formed as an insert for placement within the interior of conventional prior art baby wipes warmers for retrofit applications.
Further in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, a second liquid reservoir may be used in conjunction with the fourth embodied baby wipes warmer to maintain hydration of the sponge layer and baby wipes. A vertically mounted sponge wall is provided with the second liquid reservoir and is used to absorb the necessary liquid therefrom via at least one reservoir hole extended therethrough. The absorbed liquid is then evaporated into the baby wipe warmer""s inside compartment, hence adding moisture to the baby wipes disposed therein. Simultaneously, the vertical sponge wall is disposed in abutting contact with the sponge layer so that the liquid drawn from the reservoir permeates thereto and helps to maintain the moisture content of the sponge layer. The second liquid reservoir includes an external viewing port which lets a user see the level of liquid contained therein. If the liquid level is low, then the user may pour additional liquid either directly within the inside compartment or the reservoir.
In accordance with a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention, a liquid tank assembly in the form of an elongated central channel is embedded laterally along the flattened interior compartment surface. This assembly forming the elongated central channel includes a sponge material therewithin so that it may draw liquid out of the reservoir by capillarity. Similar to the first embodied baby wipes warmer, its upper tank surface comprises at least one vapor aperture which allows liquid vapor to travel therethrough.
In illustrating the operation for all embodied baby wipes warmers, a stack of baby wipes may be placed within the inside compartment simply by opening and then closing the lid member. The liquid contained within the baby wipes warmer should be checked to ensure that there is sufficient quantity (i.e., water level and/or content) present to generate optimal vapors necessary to moisten the baby wipes. This can be accomplished by checking the liquid level within the inside compartment itself and/or the liquid reservoir (for the first, second, third and fifth embodiments) or the moisture content of the sponge layer (for the fourth embodiment) Thereafter, the baby wipes warmer may be plugged into an electrical outlet in order to activate the heating element (if not already done). By following this easy-to-follow procedure, portions of the liquid can transition into vapors when sufficiently heated which then travel upwardly through the vapor aperture(s) to contact the baby wipes so that they may be maintained in constant moisturized condition and coloration.